TDG Ch 9

“Jihyuk, don’t engage with him.”

I threw myself in front of Han Jihyuk, who looked like he was about to launch forward like a bullet from a gun barrel. Just trying to hold him back was exhausting, especially when the guy was a full head taller and more than twice my size. The only reason I was even managing to stand in his way at all was because Jihyuk hadn’t pushed me aside yet.

“What? Don’t engage? This punk thinks he can talk big just because he’s a Guide—”

Seongjun, for the love of god! Read the room, please?!

Im Seongjun, this crazy bastard really must have a death wish. Instead of running for his life, he walked right up to us and raised his hand. That clawing hand, striking like a viper, was aiming straight for me.

“Ugh!”

Han Jihyuk intercepted Seongjun’s wrist mid-air and twisted it up like a toy. Seeing those muscles ripple like flowing water, I could tell this wasn’t anything like the way he’d touched me before. It was on a whole different level.

“Gah—Aaargh! You son of a—!”

As Seongjun thrashed and lunged, Jihyuk kicked his shin hard and gave his wrist another twist like it was nothing. Without mercy, he yanked Seongjun’s arm high above his head, then pressed down hard, forcing it to bend the wrong way.

Crunch. Seongjun let out a piercing scream and collapsed to his knees in a pathetic heap. His arm flopped limply, like his shoulder had popped out of its socket.

“Aaaargh!”

With another sickening crunch, Seongjun’s hand crumpled inside Jihyuk’s fist. Blood trickled down his forearm like juice squeezed from a press, and the sight of it made my skin crawl.

The last time Han Jihyuk’s grip strength had been measured, it was recorded at 800 kilograms.

I didn’t even want to imagine what had just happened inside that fist.

Seongjun wasn’t exactly small either, but he was tossed around like a ragdoll, completely powerless against Jihyuk’s strength.

His screams for mercy echoed down the hallway like a pig being slaughtered. But it was pointless. This was a secluded, personal section of the training facility—there was no security to intervene. Even if someone did come running, there was no stopping Jihyuk in his current state. He lifted his foot with a cold, mocking smile, and I could already picture what he was about to do. No. He was going to kick him.

Logically speaking, there’s almost no chance his kicking force is weaker than his grip strength. Even if Seongjun was a half-rate S-rank, if Jihyuk kicked him with full force, he could die. No, he would die.

Panicked, I practically threw my whole body at Jihyuk and clung to his side with everything I had.

“Jihyuk! Stop! If you go any further, you’ll kill him!”

Maybe my desperate plea finally reached his ears. Jihyuk, who had been ruthlessly unrelenting, finally stopped moving. The cold, pitch-black eyes that had shown no mercy softened with warmth as they turned toward me. Thankfully, there was still a sliver of reason left in him. Or maybe he’d finally calmed down after breaking Seongjun.

Either way, what mattered was that he’d stopped.

The breath I’d been holding back all this time came rushing out in one go.

Seongjun was soon tossed onto the floor. Clutching the bloody lump that used to be his hand, he rolled around and wailed, choking on his sobs. Honestly, I didn’t feel the slightest bit sorry. That’s what you get for picking the wrong fight. 

If we’d hooked Han Jihyuk up to a brainwave monitor just now, the graph probably would’ve shot right through the paper.

I was completely drained. It felt like I’d lost ten years off my life. My legs trembled so badly I barely managed to stop myself from collapsing right there.

“Take him away.”

Im Seongjun’s Guide, who had been frozen in fear and unable to move, finally came to her senses at my words. She hurried over and helped the guy to his feet.

I didn’t let go of Han Jihyuk until every last whimper and groan from Im Seongjun, who was whining like a beaten dog, completely disappeared.

* * *

Back in the dorm, I threw myself into writing the report I had to submit to headquarters.

They needed to know exactly what kind of disaster that jellyfish-brained bastard had nearly caused just to stroke his own damn ego. Sure, he probably thought this was just another one of his cheap stunts like always, hoping to get a reaction. But this time, he picked the wrong person. If I hadn’t held Han Jihyuk back, or if Jihyuk had failed to control his emotions and let his powers run wild, everyone there could have died.

What really pissed me off was knowing that, even after all that, Im Seongjun probably wouldn’t suffer any serious consequences just because he’s an S-rank. That bastard knows it, too. That’s why he goes around spreading shit wherever he pleases. Once he pulls himself together, I’m sure he’ll send some ridiculous complaint or petition to the higher-ups. It would be full of fabricated nonsense, no doubt.

But I’m not about to let that happen. I’ll get ahead of him and make sure he doesn’t even get the chance to open his mouth.

Damn it. Why the hell did someone who wasn’t even supposed to show up yet have to appear and cause all this trouble?

I was furiously pounding away at the keyboard when my hands suddenly froze. My eyes wandered to the monitor, where my own face was faintly reflected in the screen.

“……”

No way… Did I mess up the original storyline?

I’m just an insignificant extra, so whatever I do shouldn’t affect the world itself. But Han Jihyuk is the protagonist. If his fate changes, the whole story that follows him will change too.

I’d been so focused on surviving and trying to save him that it never even occurred to me I might’ve thrown the original plot off course.

My heart pounded in sudden realization, but what could I do now? Whatever the case, it’s still better than letting half of Seoul get blown off the map. If there’s any of the original plot left, I’ll just have to make sure I follow it from now on.

* * *

I opened the half-closed balcony door and stepped outside. In the distance, the city lights flickered faintly like stars. Jihyuk was leaning on the railing, silently gazing out at the night skyline.

“So this is where you were. How are you feeling?”

As I approached, Jihyuk brushed his wind-blown hair back and turned to look at me. The fierce energy from earlier had completely faded. Now he just looked calm, his body swaying gently in the night breeze, no signs of agitation left.

“You were really angry earlier, huh?”

“……”

I did my best to comfort him.

“You did well holding back. Im Seongjun’s just a pathetic excuse for a human being. He was just jealous of you. Don’t let it get to you too much…”

“I don’t care about me. I’m worried about you, Hyung.”

“Huh?”

Jihyuk lowered his gaze and looked directly into my eyes. His eyes, deeper and brighter than the night itself, seemed to pull me straight into his soul. I found myself getting lost in them without even realizing.

“You had to hear those degrading words right to your face. That’s what bothers me. I was worried about you.”

I couldn’t bring myself to say I was fine.

The truth was, I was angry. If I could, I’d chase him down and beat him until the dust flew on a rainy day^[1]. But still—

“You’re worried about me?”

Jihyuk nodded silently.

That was enough for me.

I’d long since grown numb to provocations from jerks like Im Seongjun. I didn’t want to stoop to their level anyway. I let out a small laugh.

“It’s fine. This field’s always been full of rough people. Honestly, it used to be worse.”

“It used to be… worse?”

Jihyuk’s eyebrows jerked up. Sensing the sudden shift in atmosphere, I realized my slip of the tongue and quickly waved my hands in denial.

“It’s just an expression! I didn’t mean it like that…! You know how it is, we can’t always meet people we like in life. We can’t always hear nice things, either.”

“I’d never say things like that to you, Hyung.”

The retort came out blunt and unexpectedly laced with emotion.

“Of course you wouldn’t…”

I gave a flustered laugh, trying to smooth things over, but then I instinctively clamped my mouth shut as a large hand came up to rest near my neck. Han Jihyuk lowered himself, cradling both my cheeks with his hands and bringing his face so close that I flinched, thinking for a second our lips might touch.

“I won’t even let you hear things like that.”

His lips grazed my ear as he whispered with quiet resolve. Jihyuk let out a breath, low and heavy with restrained emotion, then shifted his eyes to meet mine. I couldn’t look away, as if held captive by his gaze.

“So just this once… I’ll let it go.”

His voice was endlessly gentle and sweet, but I could still feel the anger beneath it, spreading like a burn.

* * *

I had no memory of how I got back to my room.

When I came to my senses, I was crouched in front of the door.

That crazy guy… What overwhelming presence…

Hey, heart, you’re still in your place, right?

Of course, my heart was thumping away just fine inside my ribcage, no questions asked.

Still dazed, I brushed the goosebumps off my arms and began replaying that new side of Han Jihyuk over and over in my head, practically carving it into my soul. What the hell was that? What just happened? That was a full-blown, once-in-a-lifetime event from my favorite character. There was no way I was letting even a second of it slip past me.

So that’s what he becomes once he’s free from Kwon Minwook’s grip.

The Han Jihyuk I knew was either howling in pain before the incident or so hollowed out afterward that he just bottled everything up, no matter what happened.

The Han Jihyuk who revealed raw emotions, the kind the original novel never showed, was dangerously sexy. Just thinking about that expression, that voice, made my whole body tremble and left my brain buzzing.

And to think… all that anger was for me.

Sure, it made sense that he would be angry that someone touched his dedicated Guide, but the fact that he was also thinking about how I must have felt was something I had not expected. 

Usually in these kinds of scenarios, it’s not about the Guides themselves. It’s more about someone daring to lay a hand on what’s “mine,” and that is what sets them off.

I rolled around on the bed, letting out a voiceless groan.

Jihyuk-ah, Hyung doesn’t regret a single second of those five years I spent on you. You really are the best man alive.

Just thinking about how that same devotion will eventually be directed at the female lead has my heart pounding with excitement. I can’t calm down.

“Ahyoon, hang in there. Your man is seriously incredible…”

* * *

The Republic of Korea in Lost Paradise was similar to the one I had lived in, yet different in many ways.

First, after the appearance of Espers and Guides, nuclear weapons and missiles became completely obsolete. After all, a powerful Esper could disintegrate a launched nuclear warhead down to atoms in under three seconds.

In a world where human beings had become weapons of mass destruction, the new definition of a “world power” was no longer based on nuclear arsenals. It was determined by which country had more Espers and of higher quality.

Ironically, the first to embrace this new reality were the armed organizations scattered across the world.

They abandoned outdated weapons like guns and explosives and instead began showcasing devastating firepower powered by Espers.